Recipe #19 - Fajita marinade

This past weekend, we had a few friends over for dinner. I wanted to make fajitas and all of the fixins', but I didn't want to buy the pre-seasoned fajita meat. I looked for a marinade I could try. The original recipe is here: http://www.food.com/recipe/chilis-fajitas-8595.

The ingredients below are based on either one pound of top sirloin or one pound of chicken breast.

Meat Marinade Ingredients:
*1/4 cup lime juice
*1/3 cup water
*2 tblsp olive oil
*4 garlic cloves, crushed
*2 tsp soy sauce (I used low sodium)
*1 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp liquid smoke
*1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
*1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients and marinade the meat overnight. Grill meat over an open flame, flipping every 5-6 minutes, until thoroughly cooked. Thinly slice the meat. Set aside and keep warm.

Fajita Vegetable Ingredients:
*1 small onion
*1 small red bell pepper
*1 small green bell pepper
*2 tblsp water
*1 tblsp olive oil
*1 tsp soy sauce
*1/2 tsp lime juice
*1 dash salt
*1 dash black pepper

Thinly slice all vegetables, and set them aside. Mix remaining ingredients together in a large frying pan. Add sliced vegetables to the frying pan and cook them until brown. Add sliced meat to frying pan.

Let me first start by saying that I was really nervous about the marinade. I didn't like the way it smelled, so I was worried that would translate to not a good flavor. We cooked both steak and chicken. Both meats were so incredibly good! I was surprised by how juicy and tender the chicken was. This is definitely a keeper recipe, and it was so easy! I'll be saving this for game watching parties and tailgates!!

TTFN!

Recipe #18 - Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

We actually tried this recipe about 3 or 4 weeks ago - I just have not had a minute to post the recipe! This is another find from Food.com. I've actually found a lot of really tasty recipes from their site lately. Here is the original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/bacon-wrapped-smoked-gouda-stuffed-chicken-breasts-111169.

Ingredients:
*4 boneless chicken breasts
*4 slices of bacon
*3 to 4 oz of cheese
*1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*1/2 tsp garlic powder
*1/2 tsp paprika
*1/2 tsp pepper

Flatten the chicken breasts to approximately 1/4" thick. Combine the cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika and pepper. Coat both sides of the chicken with the spices. Place small piece of cheese on the chicken and roll up firmly. Wrap each chicken breast with a piece of bacon. In a skillet, brown the bacon wrapped chicken over medium heat until bacon begins to crisp. Remove from skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

The original recipe calls for smoked gouda cheese. I didn't have any on hand and used feta cheese the first time I made this. I thought it was good, but I want to try it with a different cheese next time. I had a hard time getting the chicken as flat as the recipe called for, which made it really thick when I rolled it up, and it needed to cook longer. The recipe was really good, though, and I'll definitely be trying it again!

TTFN!

Recipe #17 - Pepper Lime Chicken

Well hey there! It's been a while! :)

I originally got this recipe from Food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/dump-pepper-lime-chicken-112931. It was very easy to make on a Sunday afternoon and throw in the fridge for a "quick" meal later in the week. It will definitely be made in my house again, and I'll probably make up a larger batch to freeze some additional meals.

Ingredients:
*1/2 tsp lime peel
*2 garlic cloves, minced
*1/4 cup lime juice
*1 tsp pepper
*1 tblsp olive oil
*1 tsp basil
*1/4 tsp salt
*4 chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients in a freezer bag. Add chicken to bag and coat well. Marinate the chicken over night in the fridge, or place in the freezer for later use. When you're ready to cook the chicken, bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350.

The original recipe says to serve over rice, which I did not. I probably will next time, though! The best thing about this recipe was how tender the chicken was. It was wonderful!!

TTFN!

Recipe #16 - OREO Crunch Bars

I finally busted out another recipe from the Oreo With a Twist cookbook... and it did not disappoint! :) In case you missed the first one, here ya go!

Ingredients:
*34 OREO cookies, divided
*1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
*1 7.5oz jar of marshmallow creme
*1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
*1/3 c chopped nuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350. Coarsely chop 8 OREO cookies, set aside. Finely crush the remaining cookies and mix with the melted butter. Firmly press the cookie crust onto the bottom of a greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan (I actually used a 9" round pan...). Drop the marshmallow creme by spoonfuls onto the cookie crust, coming within about a 1/2 inch of the edges. (I found the marshmallow creme hard to spread once it was on the crust, so it needed a little TLC.) Sprinkle remaining OREOs, chocolate chips and nuts over the top. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the marshmallow creme puffs. Cool completely on a wire rack.

I made this recipe for work, so I did not use nuts, for not knowing about allergies. Next time, I will try them, at least on half. Rather than original OREOs, I used Double Stuf OREOs for the recipe. There aren't 34 in the package, so the numbers are a little bit altered for the first part. I coarsely chopped 6, instead of 8, and then used the remaining cookies for the crust. It was quite delish.

TTFN!

Recipe #15 - Baked Corn on the Cob

I do realize that I've more or less disappeared lately... I haven't slowed down on trying new recipes though! I have a few to catch up on.

Corn is a really popular vegetable in our house. During the spring/summer months, I like buying the ears of corn at the grocery store, rather than canned. Something about it just seems... fun?? Anyway, we ran out of propane for the grill, so I was in need of an alternative way to cook them.

Ingredients:
*Ear(s) of corn, cleaned and completely free of husks and silk fibers
*Foil square
*Butter
*Salt
*Pepper
*any other seasonings, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Butter and season the foil squares. Place one ear of corn per foil square, and wrap the corn. I usually wrap it a little loose, but still closed. Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until corn is soft, turning over once halfway through.

Enjoy!! TTFN!